Best small car for motorway driving 2025
Long distance driving can be comfortable in a small car if you pick the right one. Take a look at our best cars for motorway driving
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By Craig Hale
Last updated: 16 May 2025
Are the best small cars for motorway driving good for long trips?
For many UK motorists, motorways and dual carriageways are vital driving routes that link up key destinations in the quickest and most efficient way.
Most modern cars can handle motorway duties without breaking a sweat – and that includes these best small cars for motorway driving.
To celebrate the vast supply of motorway-worthy small cars out there, we've picked out 10 top performers from the segment that are especially handy on the nation's 70mph roads.
The best small cars for motorway driving:
Hyundai i30
Citroën C3
Peugeot 308
Renault Megane
SEAT Leon
Ford Fiesta
Škoda Fabia
Volkswagen Golf
Mercedes A-Class
Kia Ceed
Hyundai i30
The fact the Hyundai i30 comes with a five-year warranty from the factory should tell you all you need to know about its reliability – and many used ones should have a good proportion of this left.
For motorway driving, the 1.6-litre diesel engine is particularly appealing as it should comfortably return up to 65mpg, but newer mild hybrid engines can still easily exceed 50mpg.
The i30 stands out for its exceptional value for money, coming with plenty of driving tech like cruise control and lane keep assist to take the hassle out of long stints.
Citroën C3
If you’d like to combine some solid motorway practicality with more than a little French 'je ne sais quoi', a used Citroën C3 should be high up on your shopping list.
It doesn’t just look distinctive, it’s also a great small car to drive on motorways because it combines supremely soft seats with even softer suspension.
Citroën also equips its smaller models with more mod-cons than you'd expect, with well-equipped variants getting cruise control and climate control to keep you on track.
Peugeot 308
Here’s another French car that ticks all the boxes when it comes to motorway driving. Not only has the Peugeot 308 achieved a five-star safety rating in Euro NCAP tests, but it also feels like a good, solid car when you’re behind the wheel.
The diesel engines offer the best MPG, but newer mild hybrid models are nearly as efficient. We prefer them, because they can do some of your town driving (at the end of that long motorway ride) on the electric motor alone.
Peugeot has also pulled out all the stops when it comes to the interior to make it easy to use, with a clutter-free dashboard and quality materials throughout.
Renault Megane
The Renault Megane has always been a decent motorway cruiser, but the fourth-generation model is the most mature one yet.
It rides comfortably at pace, comes with a range of efficient engines offering up to 70mpg, and – no less importantly – it looks absolutely brilliant.
Best of all, Renault fits its cars with a generous supply of driver assist and safety technology to take the stress out of any type of driving – especially higher-speed driving.
SEAT Leon
The SEAT Leon has proved to be the make’s most successful car yet in the UK with more than a quarter of a million examples sold here.
If you’re looking for the sorts of safety features that are important for motorway driving, you’ll find plenty in this used SEAT, which shares many of its high-quality parts with the Volkswagen Golf.
The latest models to enter the used car market include an adaptive cruise control system that uses satellite and GPS data to automatically set a safe speed for the car to travel. A nice touch to help you on those long, straight motorways.
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta evolved over eight generations from a compact city car into a supermini capable of nearly everything you can throw at it. In fact, it's one of the best cars for city and motorway driving.
The current car's SYNC3 infotainment system is one of the best ones you'll find in a small car, while well-specced models get powerful sound systems and decent noise insulation.
Its 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine will give you more than 50mpg on a run, which is quite a feat for a small petrol engine – newer versions even use small electric motors to reduce emissions.
Škoda Fabia
If your motorway journeys involve transporting taller passengers and lots of luggage, the Škoda Fabia is a perfect choice.
Although compact from the outside, there’s plenty of space and headroom both in the front and the back, and the 380-litre boot is class-leading (and on par with bigger family hatchbacks).
All the engines post-2018 are 1.0-litre petrols, and while all are strong, we'd recommend the 115hp version for motorway driving.
Volkswagen Golf
The Golf has always been the small car against which all others are judged. After all, it virtually invented the category over 50 years ago, arriving as the first hatchback that could do big car things.
VW has gone the extra mile on safety equipment with adaptive cruise control and a system that can sense an impending impact and apply the brakes automatically.
Plus, there are plenty of used VW models to choose from if you want to save some cash. It's one of the best hatchbacks for motorway driving.
Mercedes A-Class
The A-Class is the baby in the Mercedes line-up. Put it on a motorway, however, and you’ll find it shares many of the winning attributes as its bigger siblings.
It’s also absolutely packed with safety systems including automatic lane-change assist, adaptive cruise control and blind-spot assist to let you know if another vehicle has crept up on you without you noticing.
If you go for a higher-grade version, the A-Class feels truly premium.We're talking twin-display setups, a sunroof and high-end sound systems.
Kia Ceed
We started on a long-warranty car in the Hyundai i30, so let’s end on one with an even longer one.
With a seven-year warranty – or 100,000 miles (that would cover you for more than 500 trips along the whole length of the M1) – you can be confident the Kia Ceed is a quality car that shouldn’t let you down.
The 1.0-litre petrol engine should be powerful enough for most and deliver 50mpg – so fewer fill-ups at service stations’ exorbitant fuel prices. Sounds like a winner to us.
What makes a small car good for motorway driving?
If you're looking for a small hatchback car that's ideal for motorway driving, there are a few things to consider:
Supportive seats
Spacious cabin
Comfortable suspension
High MPG
Driver aids
Capable infotainment system
Which cars are the best for motorway driving?
Driving on the motorway doesn't call for any specific type of car – saloons and hatchbacks can be low and aerodynamic, helping you get high MPG figures, while SUVs and MPVs might be better if you want to sit higher for better visibility.
All of that said, if you're ready to buy the best small car for motorway driving, then it's time to browse our used hatchback cars for sale.